Sponsoring Golden Cup

Abstract

This thesis is analyzing the commercial market for Danish horseracing, in particular the sponsorship opportunities for a weekly race at the racetrack in Charlottenlund called Golden Cup. This race is broadcasted in the Nordic countries Denmark, Sweden and Norway. As the thesis shows the race can not currently deliver the value for sponsors that they pay for in terms of sponsorship exposure. Sports such as association football and handball are delivering much lower prices per reached consumer. There are however many possibilities for Golden Cup to deliver a much more attractive and professional product and for the Racetrack in Charlottenlund to provide sponsors with much more attractive opportunities. Prominent amongst these are the naming rights to the racetrack which should be worth more than one million DKK annually and large main sponsorship deals focusing on many of the sponsorship objectives and not only exposure. Furthermore changing the placement of banner advertisement could lead to much increased exposure and specific locations, such as behind the studio could lead up to as much as half a million Danish kroner in sponsorship value through exposure. Delivering a product which is interesting for a sponsor in the long term is important to providing value for the sponsor and gaining a serious income foundation for the Danish horse racing industry. Academic research shows that sponsorship value is created through long term commitments rather than on short term exposure. Many steps can be taken to make the sport more interesting both for viewers and sponsors and amongst these are; committing to a more youthful approach to the sport in televising, embarking on more international cooperation over races, betting and sponsorship, building better online platforms for viewing and betting on horseracing along with finding a way around the double role Danske Spil are in currently where they also are operating the biggest competitor to betting on horseraces in Denmark; Lotto. The thesis also presents relevant cases to the industry and outlines a possible sponsorship plan for DFDS Seaways if they decide to become main sponsor of Golden Cup.